There are product launches that go down in history, some launches that should probably be forgotten, and then there are others that release a great product that just disappears into the night. It’s been quite some time since Google unveiled their TV project, better known as Google TV, and since that prolific day it would seem that Google TV has pretty much gradually fallen deeper and deeper into ambiguity. Announcement wise, there hasn’t been anything groundbreaking for the service for quite a while, and that probably doesn’t bode too well. So, what could Google do to revamp their GTV? How about launching it as a tablet feature?
The TV market is as tough as any other market out there. While it may not seem like it, for TV manufacturers to have any kind of step up against the competition, they’ve got to be able to offer the same features as their competition, and yet add more without upping the overall cost for the consumer at the same time. It’s the same situation that phone manufacturers face, especially Google. For Google, entering into the TV market was a huge step, and a big gamble going up against Apple’s own Apple TV, as well as other embedded Internet TVs out there. But, Google’s own Android mobile OS could be a quick savior for the GTV service, especially if Google could figure out a way to make the service available for the mobile devices.
As of right now, we all know that tablets are more about the media consumption, and not so much about the media creation. While some tablets offer the ability to create, their main focus is for the user to consume as much content as humanly possible, and having options to do that is the only way to make that happen. While Google TV is obviously meant to bring Google to the TV, and therefore into the living room, there’s more ways to do that than just the TV, or even your smartphone. By throwing in Google TV with a tablet, or integrating GTV into the very core of the OS itself, would open quite a few doors for not only the customer, but Google as well.
Many people see a tablet as a natural extension to their already owned devices. A tablet isn’t just a device in of itself, but more to the point, an accessory. It’s supposed to be there on their living room table waiting for them to sit on the couch and start watching TV. So why not make Google TV part of that equation? Make Google TV’s services, remote control, and content available right from the Android-powered tablet they have on the table? And yes, it has to go beyond just the remote control – that’s an app, if anything.
What I’m suggesting, is that Google make Google TV’s features available right from the tablet. That includes subscribed TV, available whenever they want right from the tablet. That means being able to run a search from the tablet from Google, and have the results come up on the main TV, all with the touch of a button. That means apps downloaded from Google TV from the Android Market (when it’s actually available) get downloaded to the tablet, too, if the user wishes it to happen. Google’s obviously all about incorporating their services into one another, as we’ve seen with the huge makeover the company has instigated since the launch of Google+, so why not use this same motivation to meld services that could benefit from one another?
Google TV’s status in the market is a question mark, at least in my eyes. But I think it could be rejuvenated with a big breath of fresh air if Google could find a way to integrate the service not just into Android, but into Android-specific mobile operating systems for tablets, starting with the next version of Honeycomb, perhaps. It wouldn’t need to be a service made available for smartphones and tablets, just tablets specifically.
Do you think GTV could benefit from being an available feature to Android-powered tablets? Or do you think Google TV is just one of those things that Google launched, and will ultimately forget about as time progresses? Let me know in the comments below.
